Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay 82
A Detailed Description of the Enola Gay August 6, 1945 Mission
On August 6, 1945, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress named Enola Gay took off from North Field on the island of Tinian. It was piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, the commander of the 509th Composite Group, and carried a 12-man crew. This seemingly ordinary B-29 was actually on a top secret mission as part of the Manhattan Project, a highly classified program to develop an atomic bomb. Its mission was to deliver the world’s first atomic bomb, code named “Little Boy,” to Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb was a uranium gun-type fission weapon, specifically modified to fit into the bomb bay of a B-29.
Enola Gay was not alone on its mission. Six other B-29s were launched as well, including three weather reconnaissance planes and a spare that landed at Iwo Jima. The two other planes, one piloted by Captain George Marquardt and the other by Major Charles Sweeney, carried observers and equipment to monitor the effects of the bomb. For this mission, the Enola Gay’s usual tail markings of an arrow inside a circle (the marking of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group) were changed to the letter “R” inside a circle to disguise its true unit as a security measure. The letter “R” was the tail code of the 6th Bomb Group.
Enola Gay reached its initial point over the city at 9:11 AM. Control of the plane was then handed over to the bombardier, Major Thomas W. Ferebee, the navigator, Captain Theodore J. Van Kirk, and the radar operator, Sergeant Joe A. Stiborik. After a smooth, tense run at 31,600 feet, the bomb was dropped at 9:15 AM. It was set to detonate at 2,000 feet. At 9:17:02 AM (Hiroshima time), 43 seconds after leaving the bomb bay, “Little Boy” exploded. The Enola Gay’s crew felt two shockwaves 7 seconds later as they were pulling away from the city. A massive mushroom cloud then erupted above Hiroshima.
The Enola Gay landed back at its base on Tinian at 2:58 PM. This mission marked the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare and had devastating consequences for Hiroshima. Tens of thousands of people were killed instantly in the blast, and many more died in the following days and weeks from radiation poisoning and other injuries. The bombing of Hiroshima, along with the subsequent bombing of Nagasaki three days later, ultimately led to Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II.